Eagles Add Two to the Win Column in Saturday Doubleheader, Win 100th Consecutive Match

SWARTHMORE, PA- The Juniata women's volleyball team took six of seven sets in a Saturday doubleheader. They defeated the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons 3-1, and the University of Massachusetts- Boston Beacons in a 3-0 sweep. 

The day kicked off at the Tarble Pavilion at 11:00 a.m. against the Red Dragons.

Juniata opened play with a 6-1 run to take a lead which they would never give up in the opening set. Cortland came within three points on several occasions, but the Eagles' scoring remained steady. Juniata would go on to win the set 25-18 with the final kill coming from Emily Farrell on an assist by Elizabeth Cleveland. 

Set two began much closer, with neither team being able to separate themselves on the scoreboard. Neither team held more than a two-point lead until an attack error put the Eagles up 10-7. The Eagle lead was at its largest at 12-8, just before a 0-5 run gave the Red Dragons a key 12-13 lead. In the next few points, neither team pulled ahead, but Cortland went on a key 2-8 run late from which they emerged with a five-point lead. A four point Juniata burst put them back within one point, but the Red Dragons were able to see out the set, 21-25.

Set three followed suit and proved that this match was going to be tight. Again, neither team held more than a two-point lead until thirty points had already been played, and the Eagles strung four points together to lead 18-14. Even then, the Red Dragons came back to regain a 19-20 lead and brought the set down to the wire. With 14 total ties in the set, the most important one came at 23-23. A clutch kill and service ace from Maggie Hayes gave the Eagles the edge over the Red Dragons this time, 25-23.

The fourth set unfolded much differently from the first three. At first, Cortland jumped out to a 7-2 lead and looked like it would be forcing a fifth set. The Eagles slowly cut the lead down, and eventually went on a huge 11-2 run to come back to lead 17-15 after being down by seven points. Cortland briefly regained the lead at 17-18, but another crucial 8-1 run for the Eagles was closed off with a service ace by Hayes. This allowed them to take the set and the match, 25-19 and 3-1.

Ava Gummer led in kills for the first match of the day with 17, while Hayes and Audrey Muth added 13 and 12 each. Cleveland tallied 46 assists, and Muth tied Isabella Rushing for the team lead in digs at 13.

The second match of the day began at 4:00 p.m. against the Beacons of the University of Massachusetts- Boston.

This match began in favor of the Beacons after the Eagles faced an early 2-6 deficit in set one. After clawing back to tie the game and then gain their first lead at 8-7, the Eagles were back in it. The set remained closely contested the rest of the way, as neither team led by more than two points for the rest of it. After being down 21-22, the Eagles won the points they needed to take set one, 25-23. Farrell linked up with Cleveland again for the final point. 

Set two was simply dominated by Juniata. They opened the set with a 7-2 run, and that five-point advantage only grew larger as the set went on. They would never trail in the set. Separate four and three-point bursts gave the Eagles the boost they needed to take the set 25-15.

The final set, which would complete their first 3-0 sweep of the season, was again steadily controlled by the Eagles. After jumping out to a 9-0 lead, the Eagles were locked in on victory. The Beacons upped their scoring as the set went on, but were never able to make up the ground they had given up early. They came within six points at 13-7, 14-8, and 15-9, and certainly made the Eagles earn it at 23-19, but were unable to overcome the deficit in the end. The Eagles took set three 25-19, with the final kill made by Gummer and assisted by Cleveland.

This time Molly Mishinkash led with 11 kills and Cleveland added 24 assists. Rushing added another 13 assists in the three sets.

With the pair of wins, the Eagles sit at 100 consecutive wins dating back to a September 17, 2022, win over La Verne. The Eagles have not lost in 1,078 days, and have dropped just 25 sets across their 100 matches. They sit nine away from tying Penn State's NCAA record of 109 consecutive victories. 

Now 3-0, the Eagles will move on to face the Marietta College Pioneers next Friday night, September 5, at 7:00 p.m. Their home opener will lead into two more home matches on Saturday at the ASICS invitational.